Read The Jewish Annotated New Testament Online
Authors: Amy-Jill Levine
15.1
–15: Jesus condemned by Pilate
(Mt 27.1–2,11–26; Lk 23.1–5,18–25; Jn 18.28–40; 19.4–16).
1
:
Handed him over to Pilate
, only the Romans could impose a sentence of death (see Jn 18.31); in addition, the charges apparently are not completely clear (v. 3).
2
:
King of the Jews
, a claim that the Romans would understand as dangerous; they could tolerate no kings except those, like the Herods, whom they had appointed.
6
–15:
Barabbas
is Aramaic for “son of the father,” and is likely an invented double for Jesus. There is no evidence that the Romans released prisoners, much less insurrectionaries, at Passover. Further, if the point is to release him for the festival, the timing is off: the paschal lamb was eaten the night before.
14
–15:
Mark places the blame on the Jews, an increasing tendency in subsequent accounts. After the dissemination of the Gospels, Pilate was even considered a convert to Christianity, and he is honored as a martyr in the Coptic Orthodox Church; his feast day is June 25. The transfer of guilt from the Romans—who crucified Jesus—to the Jews was then complete.
Flogging
was a way of weakening the victim before crucifixion.
16
–20:
Jesus is mocked by the Romans as a king, a parody of “Hail, Caesar!” The shaming is emphasized more than physical pain. The
purple cloak
evokes royal robes, and the
crown
of
thorns
a gold circlet, or perhaps a laurel wreath.
15.20
–47: The crucifixion and burial
(Mt 27.27–61; Lk 23.18–56; Jn 19.1–3,17–42).
22
:
Golgotha
, the sites of Jesus’ last days are significant: Mount of Olives (11.1n.) and Place of the Skull.
23
:
Wine mixed with myrrh
, see “Scripture Fulfillments,” p.
89
.
24
:
The crucifixion is stated in only one sentence. The extreme physical agony would have been known by all, but the Gospels emphasize the shame of the punishment much more than the physical suffering. Crucifixion was the most extreme form of execution, reserved for slaves and insurrectionaries.
33
:
In apocalypses (e.g.,
2 Bar
. 32), the conditions at the end of time will replay those of creation; cf. Gen 1.2–3.
34
:
Jesus’ “cry of dereliction” from Ps 22.1 in mixed Hebrew/Aramaic is ironically misunderstood by the people. As in 15.11–15, Jesus is abandoned by his own people, a theme of the psalms of lament, such as Ps 22.
36
:
Sour wine
, a mild anesthetic.
38
:
Was torn
, Mk 1.10; Isa 64.1. The tearing of the
curtain
could symbolize the presence of God’s power at the moment of Jesus’ death, the access to God, or a critique of the Temple and anticipation of its destruction. (Although a curtain is made for the wilderness tabernacle [Ex 36] to separate the inner area where the ark is kept, there is no curtain mentioned in the construction of the Temple, either Solomon’s or the Second Temple.)
39
:
At the climactic point in the Gospel, the centurion declares what the followers of Jesus cannot (cf. Jn 11.49–52).
40
–41:
The
women
are mentioned again in v. 47, witnessing the burial, and in 16.1–8, seeing the empty tomb.
42
:
Day of Preparation
, …
the day before the Sabbath
(2 Macc 8.26); this implies that the crucifixion was on a Friday. The Gospel of John (19.14) states that the crucifixion occurred on the day of Preparation for the Passover, not for the Sabbath.
43
:
Others expected the kingdom of God, so
Joseph
is not necessarily a follower of Jesus; cf. 12.34. By moving to take down Jesus’ dead body, Joseph fulfills Deut 21.22–23 (cf. Tob 1–2).
16.1
–8: The empty tomb
(Mt 28.1–8; Lk 24.1–11; Jn 20.1–10).
1
:
Jewish customs of anointing for burial can also be found at
m. Shabb
. 23.5, where the limitations on preparation of the body on the Sabbath are also noted. Thus the women wait until
the Sabbath [is] over
to prepare Jesus’ body for proper burial. Two different tombs of Jesus have been marked in Jerusalem over the centuries, but neither has any historical claim.
5
–6:
Young man
, Mark once again understates the divine significance: the figure is
dressed
as a vindicated martyr (Dan 11.35, “be made white”). Similarly, Jesus’ clothing in the Transfiguration (9.3,6) is white.
7
:
Mark predicts Jesus’ appearance in
Galilee
(cf. 14.28), which is followed by Matthew’s account; Luke puts the appearances in Jerusalem, Emmaus, and Bethany, all in Judea; John 21 places an appearance by the Sea of Tiberias (the Sea of Galilee) in Galilee, while John 20 and the longer ending of Mark (see below), like Luke, place the resurrection appearances in Jerusalem.
8
:
The ending does not provide the anticipated appearance, which would have been well known to the audience (cf. 1 Cor 15.3–5). The Gospel ends with one last example of irony: followers are now, at the resurrection, told to proclaim what they have heard, but out of fear they remain silent.
Two alternative endings to Mark.
These two endings were not likely found in the copies of Mark that Matthew and Luke utilized. The shorter ending is not attested in any manuscript earlier than fourth century CE.
16.9
–20: Traditional longer ending
. This was not likely the original ending of Mark; it is possibly an early version of the ending of the Gospel story, added to Mark to supply a conclusion, but most scholars assume that it was a pastiche of phrases from the other Gospels composed in the second century CE. For centuries it was accepted as the authentic conclusion of Mark’s Gospel. It provides the scriptural basis for modern practices still occasionally found among Christian groups regarding snake-handling and drinking poison while “in the spirit.”
1.1
–4: Prologue.
Comprising one Greek sentence, the opening follows classical and Hellenistic conventions (see Josephus,
J.W
. 1.17;
Ag. Ap
. 1.1–18).
1
:
Fulfilled
, suggests prophetic fulfillment.
3
:
Most excellent Theophilus
, the address (also Acts 1.1) suggests a patron. Whether Theophilus (a common name meaning “friend of God”) is an actual or ideal reader cannot be determined.
4
:
Instructed
, Gk “katēchēthēs,” whence “catechism”; the ideal reader likely has some knowledge of both Jewish Scripture and the story of Jesus.
1.5
–10: Zechariah and Elizabeth. 5:
Days of King Herod
, ruled ca. 37–4 BCE; Mt. 2.1,15 places Jesus’ birth during Herod’s latter years.
Priestly order of Abijah
, the eighth of twenty-four divisions of Levites (1 Chr 24.10); each division served in the Jerusalem Temple twice annually.
Aaron
, Moses’ brother and progenitor of the priestly line.
6
:
Righteous
…
living blamelessly
…
commandments and regulations
, Luke emphasizes their halakhic fidelity.
7
:
Elizabeth was barren … getting on in years
, the elderly, faithful, childless couple anticipates an angelic annunciation and the conception of a special son (Gen 11.30; see also 16.1; 25.21; 29.31; Judg 13.2–3; 1 Sam 1.2; cf. 2 Kings 4.14).
9
:
Chosen by lot
, see Acts 1.26;
m. Tamid
5.2–6.3.
Offer incense
, there being so many priests, this was likely Zechariah’s only time.
10
:
Time of the incense offering
, Ex 30.7–8 (see also Ps 141.2); Josephus (
Ant
. 13.10.3) states that the Maccabean king, John Hyrcanus, received a divine revelation during the incense offering.
Whole assembly
(lit., “All the number of the people”), Luke here portrays the Jews in Jerusalem as faithful and pious.
1.11
–23: Annunciation of John’s conception. 11:
Angel
, heavenly messengers (see 1.7n.) gain distinct personalities in postbiblical Jewish texts.
13
:
Afraid
, common response to an angelophany.
Prayer has been heard
, suggesting that Zechariah had prayed for a child.
You will name him
, in Gen 16.11, an angel commands Hagar to name her son “Ishmael”; see 1.31.
John
(Heb “Yo
Ḥ
anan”), “favor/grace of YHWH/YHWH is gracious,” a name attested in Jer 40.8 and increasingly in later Jewish texts.
15
:
Wine or strong drink
, indicting a Nazirite, a person dedicated to God (Num 6.1–4; Judg 13.4–6). The annunciation in the Temple draws a particular connection between John and Samuel.
Holy Spirit
, a major Lukan theme, indicating the presence of the divine (e.g., Ps 51.11 [51.13 LXX]; Wis 9.17); the concept came into later Jewish thought primarily in the depiction of the “Shekhinah” (derived from Heb “dwell” [e.g., Ex 29.45], a cognate of the Hebrew “mishkan,” or “tabernacle”), the feminine presence of God that dwells with Israel (e.g.,
b. Sanh
. 39a, 103b;
b. Yoma
56b).
16
:
People of Israel
, Jews; the eschatological promises come first to Israel.
17
:
Elijah
the prophet (1 Kings 17–19,21) was expected to announce the messianic age (see Mal 3.23 [4.5–6]; Mt 11.14); his traditional appearance at the Passover seder anticipates that final liberation; his appearance at the ritual circumcision (“brit milah”) proves that he is not alone among the faithful in Israel (1 Kings 19.14).
Turn the hearts of parents
, Elijah’s role in Mal 3.24 [4.6]; Sir 48.10.
Prepared for the Lord
, “Lord” (Gk “kyrios”) can mean “sir” (Heb “‘adon”), but it is also the standard translation of the Hebrew YHWH; Christians accord this title to Jesus.